Shahid Afridi thrilled with the result of the India vs New Zealand semi-final

It was a thrilling semi-final between India and New Zealand at the Old Trafford in Manchester. The game turned out to be a two-day affair with rain also playing a part. Most people had placed their bets on Team India to win and go to Lord’s for the final but in the end, it was Kane Williamson’s men who proved superior. Even former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was all involved with the match.

The flip of the coin went Williamson’s way and he elected to bat first. Though both the Indian pacers kept things in check and dismissed Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls skipper Kane and Ross Taylor took the responsibility. They both scored half centuries and Taylor stayed unbeaten for the second morning.

New Zealand resumed the game from 46.1 overs and added 28 runs to their overnight score end up with 239 in their 50 overs. It looked like an under par score but with the ball moving and overcast conditions, it wasn’t going to be easy. Trent Boult and Matt Henry knew exactly how to exploit those conditions.

India crumble under pressure

Early wickets was the only way they could gain ascendancy in the game against the famed Indian batting line-up and they did that with authority. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were back in the pavilion with individual scores of 1 each. Team India was 5/3 and 240 suddenly looked like 300.

Dinesh Karthik also got out early playing a false shot and then Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya had a partnership of sorts. Both the batsmen known for their attacking style of play got out to the left-arm spinner Mitchell Santern. It was down to Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni now to bail the team out.

Jadeja from the onset played his natural game collecting frequent boundaries. His intent and ability to get quick runs kept India in the hunt even as the required rate was mounting. Dhoni played second fiddle until the left-hander was out there in the middle. Jadeja after a fine knock of 77 was dismissed in the 48th over.

Also read – Twitter Reactions: New Zealand end India’s World Cup dream in Manchester thriller

With 31 needed from 12, Dhoni did play a big shot to get a six off Lockie Ferguson but was run out on the 3rd ball of that over to end the game for India. Afridi said that it was a stunning game and though he’d predicted an England-India final, the Blackcaps did really well to qualify for the final. He also mentioned Jadeja’s knock and the unbelievable effort by the Kiwis to win.

“Stunning result in Manchester!! I had predicted an England-India final but NZ have been brilliant, unbelievable effort to restrict this India batting for such low total. Great game for Jadeja, hard luck India,” Afridi wrote.

Stunning result in Manchester!! I had predicted an England-India final but NZ have been brilliant, unbelievable effort to restrict this India batting for such low total. Great game for Jadeja, hard luck India

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) July 10, 2019